A common treatment for gallstones and other gallbladder conditions is a cholecystectomy which is the surgical removal of the gallbladder from the liver bed. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the most common laparoscopic procedure and has replaced open cholecystectomy as the first-choice of treatment for gallstones and inflammation of the gallbladder. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy advantageously requires smaller incisions, resulting in less pain, improved cosmetic results, quicker healing, and fewer complications such as infection and adhesions.
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy requires several small incisions in the abdomen to allow the insertion of trocars or small cylindrical tubes approximately 5 to 10 millimeters in diameter through which surgical instruments and a laparoscope are placed into the abdominal cavity. The laparoscope illuminates the surgical field and sends a magnified image from inside the body to a video monitor giving the surgeon a close-up view of the organs and tissues. The surgeon watches the live video feed and performs the operation by manipulating the surgical instruments placed through the trocars.
In a laparoscopic cholecystectomy, a patient is placed in a supine position on the operating table and anesthetized. A scalpel can be used to make a small incision at the umbilicus. Using a trocar, the abdominal cavity is entered and enlarged by delivering carbon dioxide gas to insufflate the cavity to create a working space inside the patient's abdominal region. The trocar may include an inserted laparoscope for observing the penetration, insertion, and insufflation of the abdominal space. Additional trocars are inserted at a location inferior to the ribs. Using the laparoscope, the fundus of the gallbladder, which is covered by the peritoneum, is identified, grasped with a surgical grasper extending through one of the trocars, and retracted. A second surgical grasper may be used to retract the rest of the gallbladder in a lateral direction to expose Calot's triangle. Calot's triangle is that portion of the gallbladder anatomy that is bound by the cystic duct, cystic artery, the hepatic duct and the border of the liver. The surgeon identifies the cystic duct and cystic artery. In this area, the underlying structures are carefully skeletonized from the peritoneum separating the peritoneum from the both the cystic duct and the cystic artery. A surgical clip applier is introduced through one of the trocars and clips are applied in two locations to both the cystic duct and the cystic artery. The cystic duct and the cystic artery are then divided with surgical scissors between the two locations of clips freeing the gallbladder for removal. The gallbladder is dissected from the bed of the liver and removed through one of the trocars. During laparoscopic cholecystectomy, complications may arise due to gallbladder perforation which can occur due to excessive traction during retraction or during dissection of the gallbladder from the liver bed or extraction from the abdomen. The outcome of laparoscopic cholecystectomy is greatly influenced by the training, experience and skill of the surgeon performing the procedure. In order for residents and surgeons to learn and practice these surgical techniques, a realistic, functional, and anatomically correct model for use in a laparoscopic training device is needed.
A gallbladder model is not only useful for training residents and surgeons in laparoscopic cholecystectomy, but also, desirable for training residents and surgeons in laparoscopic common bile duct exploration. The common bile duct is a tube that connects the liver, gallbladder and pancreas to the small intestine and delivers fluid to aid in digestion. Common bile duct exploration is a procedure used to see if a gallbladder stone or some other obstruction is blocking the flow of bile from the gallbladder or liver to the intestine which can cause jaundice. In a laparoscopic common bile duct exploration procedure, the abdominal cavity is approached as in a cholecystectomy described above. The surgeon identifies the common bile duct and a small hemi-circumferential incision is made in the common bile duct. A cholangiography catheter is inserted into the insufflated abdominal cavity through one of the trocars and into the incision made in the common bile duct. Contrast media or radiopaque fluid is introduced into the cystic and common bile ducts and an X-ray is taken to reveal the location of any gallstones in the common bile duct. If there are gallstones, the obstructions will appear as discontinuities in the flow of contrast media. The gallstones are then surgically extracted.
In order to help patient outcomes and recoveries, surgeons need a way to practice laparoscopic cholecystectomies and common bile duct explorations outside of the operating room. The practice model needs to be anatomically correct and include all important landmarks normally seen during surgery in order to give the surgeon or resident the most realistic practice possible.